Low-tech identity theft: it's in the mail

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), MariAn Gail Brown Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Uncle Sam is supposed to be sending you something important. Aunt Sarah's birthday check went out days ago. The concert tickets for that band you're dying to see should have arrived by now. And ditto on that new credit card.

You trudge out to your mailbox, reach inside and wave your hand around. You hope what you've been waiting for is merely out of sight, but it's not there.

Mail theft is not a new crime. In fact, it's quite low tech. But with the economy worsening, the
Connecticut Better Business Bureau
fears the mailbox at the bottom of your driveway will become a more popular target for stealing not just money but your very identity.

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"Thieves can steal pre-approved credit cards, bank credit cards and other financial statements, as well as a wealth of other material to enable them to ultimately steal your identity," said
Paulette Hotton Scarpetti
, president of the Connecticut Better Business Bureau, adding that mailboxes pose a significant risk for identity theft.

Identity theft impacted 8.1 million Americans last year, costing them $45 billion in financial losses, according to Javelin Strategy and Research.

Connecticut fraud complaints, many of which stem from identity theft cases, cost consumers $5.8 million last year, according to the
Federal Trade Commission
. That is about $1,230 per incident.

"Identity theft is a rampant crime. It's not a one-time crime, but a faceless one with residual effects that you feel for a long time afterward while you try to sort things out, convincing creditors that you are not the person who spent this money," said Fairfield Police Sgt.
James Perez
, a spokesman for the department who frequently gives talks to civic organizations.

"The first thing I always say is stop putting up that little red flag on your mailbox, the one that's supposed to tell your postal carrier that there's (outbound) mail in your box.

"They are not the only ones looking out for these red flags. Scammers are, too. It's a calling card to them, and they are driving around on the prowl."

Why? They are after what's inside the mailbox - checks that they can alter, routing numbers, personal data, credit card numbers. "It's an absolute treasure trove" for them, Perez said.

In 2008, Connecticut ranked No. 19 in the nation, with 68.8 identity complaints per 100,000 residents filed with the Federal Trade Commission, which tracks cases of consumer fraud and identity theft.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has about a dozen investigators charged with pursuing mail theft complaints in Connecticut, said U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector
Ken Walker
, adding that his agency has 17 active cases in the state, some of which have resulted in arrests on federal charges.

"If somebody is stealing from the mail or fraudulently obtaining credit through the mail, we are very active pursuing those cases," Walker said. "We take these complaints quite seriously, because of the implications of what a can be done with the information. If folks do suspect that any of their information has been stolen, we urge them to report these things to us."

Lt.
J. Paul Vance
, a spokesman for the
Connecticut State Police
, thinks residents should use a number of common sense strategies to reduce the chance of having their mail and their identity stolen.

"First of all, if you are traveling and will be away for days, have the post office hold your mail or ask a neighbor you trust to pick it up for you," Vance said. "Nothing says you're not home better to a would-be thief or burglar than a huge pile of mail collecting in your mailbox."

Consumers can limit what gets sent to them in the mail by asking banks and credit-card companies not to send them solicitation letters. Additionally, he said, financial data with account numbers should be shredded so would-be thieves can't "dumpster dive" and assemble the tossed-out mail for financial gain.